#246 AI and the Future of Transcreation with Creative Translation CEO Luke Innes
Apr 11, 2025
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Luke Innes, CEO of Creative Translation, expertly merges creativity with AI to revolutionize multilingual branding. He shares his unique journey from design to leading a transcreation agency, emphasizing that AI enhances productivity but can't replace human insight. Luke discusses the diverse team of specialists supporting high-quality projects and how AI is democratizing access for smaller brands. He also highlights the importance of cultural consultants and strategic partnerships in effective global communication, promoting responsible AI adoption through the Creative Academy.
Luke Innes emphasizes the essential role of human creativity in transcreation, asserting that AI enhances productivity but cannot replace human insight.
The launch of the Creative Academy illustrates Creative Translation's commitment to preparing linguists for an AI-influenced industry while preserving the artistry of their craft.
Deep dives
The Journey into the Language Industry
Luke Innes, the CEO of Creative Translation, shares his unexpected journey into the language industry, which began at an art college. Initially focused on various artistic pursuits, he found himself working alongside a translation agency, where he started doing typesetting for different languages. This experience revealed the challenges of translation practices, particularly how difficult it could be to capture the essence of culturally distinct expressions, as illustrated by his experience with the phrase '70s caravan chic' when working on Russian translations. This sparked his interest in the nuances of language and ultimately led him to acquire the translation agency and rebrand it under a focus on creative transcreation, which aims to provide meaningful translations that resonate with target audiences.
Creative Translation and Agency Structure
Creative Translation operates globally with its headquarters in London, relying on a distributed workforce rather than traditional satellite offices. The company offers a comprehensive suite of services, including transcreation, cultural insights, and brand guardianship. This structure allows them to support a diverse range of clients such as leading brands like Samsung and Airbnb, while also managing complex language tasks that require creative adaptations. Their approach integrates the use of AI to enhance efficiency, allowing for scalable solutions and addressing unique challenges presented by different languages and cultures.
The Impact of AI on the Creative Process
The conversation notes the significant role that AI has begun to play in the language industry, although it emphasizes that AI should augment rather than replace human creativity. Luke articulates that while AI can automate repetitive tasks and improve efficiency, the essence of transcreation requires the nuanced understanding that only human experts can provide. He discusses how AI can assist in generating initial drafts or aiding in research without undermining the quality of final outputs, highlighting the importance of a balance between technology and human oversight. This belief has led the agency to focus on finding ways to integrate AI that allows linguists to enhance their productivity while maintaining the artistry of their craft.
Preparing for the Future with Creative Academy
In response to the changing landscape of the industry, Creative Translation launched the Creative Academy to prepare both new graduates and seasoned professionals for an evolving market increasingly shaped by AI. The academy aims to equip linguists with the skills needed to navigate the creative aspects of translation and transcreation, fostering a better understanding of how to engage with technology effectively. This initiative seeks to dispel fears surrounding job replacement due to AI by emphasizing the importance of human input in the creative process. As industry demands shift, the academy serves as a platform for mentorship and practical training, reinforcing the notion that the human touch remains indispensable in effective communication across languages.
Luke Innes, CEO of Creative Translation, joins SlatorPod to discuss how the global transcreation agency puts “human at the heart of the process” of multilingual branding by combining creativity, cultural insight, and strategic use of AI.
Luke recounts his unconventional entry into the language services industry, charting a path from his roots in design to leading Creative Translation. Despite early skepticism around the term “creative translation,” he built a business model that puts creativity at its core, serving global brands with distinctive voices seeking international reach.
The CEO explains that the company’s talent pool includes not just translators, but copywriters, cultural consultants, subject-matter experts, and art directors, tailored to the unique needs of each project.
While large enterprises were once the primary clients for transcreation, Luke notes that AI is lowering barriers and enabling smaller companies to invest in higher-quality multilingual branding.
Luke emphasizes that AI is a productivity tool — not a creative replacement. It supports tasks like workflow automation and translation memory management but cannot replicate the insight and originality of a human linguist.
To prepare professionals for this evolving landscape, Luke founded the Creative Academy. It supports both new graduates and experienced linguists in mastering creative briefs and adopting AI responsibly.
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